Productivity with Purpose
Personal Development
How To Use Feedback To Improve Performance
Aug 27th
Many people do not want to hear opinions or assessments from others about their work and/or life quality. It is an unfortunate part of human nature that we prefer to avoid all potentially negative information in order to insulate ourselves from criticism. Why do we do that? And why do we assume or fear that the feedback will be negative? Maybe it’s the underlying feeling that we are not good enough that is so pervasive in American Society or the habit of only giving feedback when something is wrong. I’m not a psychologist, so I won’t delve into the reasons here (though I have my theories.) The plain fact is that feedback is an often overlooked, yet extremely valuable component of productivity. If used properly it can be an indispensible tool in your productivity arsenal that can give you a competitive advantage over your peers.
Feedback is simply a tool; an instrument if you will for both validation and growth. Be cautious not to attach personal feeling to this information. Keep it in its proper perspective however and only give it the importance it deserves. Feedback is not about you as a person; it is about assessing and improving work or activities that you do.
A few weeks ago, just about when I had started questioning if anybody was listening to me or cared what I had to offer, I received a gift from Ezine Articles that made a significant impact on me. Every individual wonders if they really can do the job and we all need a pat on the back once in a while. The beauty of this gesture was twofold for me: first, it provided validation that I do quality work that does indeed have value in the marketplace; second, it was a great example of how can give appropriate feedback to others with whom I work and live.
With that in mind, let’s talk about how to use feedback properly:
- You must ask for it – Many people just do not think to give feedback or only do so when it’s negative. Make it a regular practice to ask your co-workers, supervisor, clients or customers how you are doing. (You may also consider asking your partner or children if you dare.)
- Listen – It does no good to ask for feedback if you do not really listen with an open mind.
- Filter – Consider the possible bias or perspective of the other person before you decide how much importance to place on their opinions. Do you respect the person’s views? Are they knowledgeable in the specific area? Do you trust them to be honest with you? If not, feel free to disregard them.
- Analyze – If the feedback is positive, how can you use it to continue to improve? Don’t dismiss praise or accolades! If it’s negative, what can you learn from it? Where is there room for improvement? Note: Any feedback that is purely destructive has nothing to offer you and should be ignored. Feedback that is mean-spirited is not useful to anyone.
- Give positive feedback – Learn to offer positive feedback to others. Be honest, thoughtful and constructive in your opinions. Even if your assessment is negative, find a way to offer it coupled with helpful ideas.
Don’t be afraid of feedback or opinions of people whom you value. Use it, bask in it and learn from it. Open your ears and open your mind; grow and thrive.
Do you have any feedback for me? I’m all ears….
Important Questions to Gain Perspective and Stop Wasting Time
Aug 17th
Productivity without a purpose is just busyness disguised as importance.
When was the last time you took a step back and tried to put everything about your life and work into perspective? Most likely the answer is never. I don’t just mean big picture plans, I mean what you actually do every day, how you act, how you spend your time and energy, why you do the things you do. Just humor me for a few minutes and entertain the concept that what you think you need to do or what you should do may not actually be true. Most of our patterns or behaviors are learned or acquired from others and then we never question them again until either something terrible happens or someone causes us to examine them. A recent vacation and a complete change in surroundings started me thinking about my own patterns and probing their effectiveness and even their necessity. This is why taking a break, stepping back and getting outside your “box” that has become your life is so important to both your personal and professional development.
I am challenging you now to scrutinize every pattern of behavior or routine and ask yourself these questions:
- Why am I doing this? What is the purpose?
- How much time do I really need to spend on it?
- Is there a faster, easier or more enjoyable way to accomplish it?
- What would happen if I stopped doing it?
It feels disloyal in a way to question your own perspective and thoughts, because hey, we all think that we are right. We don’t really like to entertain the idea that we could be completely off-base and have been wasting our time and energy when we could be doing something much more valuable like developing ideas, connecting with people or maybe even having fun!
My own investigation revealed the following insights:
- Perhaps I do not need to spend an hour every day on my social media communications. I gained Twitter followers and had engagement even during my vacation period, with considerably less structured tweeting, but Facebook almost completely fell off the grid. My assignment: try switching up the amount of time and the schedule that I currently use to see if I can reduce the time commitment and make it more fun.
- Writing my blog posts ahead during assigned writing periods seems more productive, but isn’t the most fun way to write for me. How can I make my writing may be more effective, enjoyable and relevant? My assignment: Try setting aside the first hour of my work day and write about what is on my mind and current.
- My exercise routine gets boring and that makes it a chore some days and hard for me to stick to my plan. What if I really don’t need to be so rigid in my schedule? How can I make exercise more fun and still get the results I want? My assignment: Experiment with including different activities, i.e. biking, walking the dogs, yoga, a weighted ball; instead of my standard running and weightlifting routine.
Stay tuned for my next post on my “Shake it Up” experiment….
Manage Your Energy
Aug 5th
Learning how to manage your energy goes along with the post I wrote a few days ago explaining the importance of knowing yourself and what works for you. Another part of that strategy is also knowing and managing your energy cycle, levels and preferences. Then the next step is figuring out how to use that knowledge to your advantage to help you work smarter, be more effective and have more free time.
Personal energy considerations:
- Are you a morning person or a night owl?
- Do you get a lunch time or mid-afternoon energy slump?
- What is your optimal length of focus or work period? For some people it’s 30 minutes spurts with short breaks in between, for others it’s 60 or 90 minutes and for a rare few it’s 3 or 4 hours.
- How often do you need to eat to maintain your concentration and energy? For health purposes you should eat every 3-4 hours, but perhaps a snack every 2 works better for you.
- Does the type of food you eat matter? Perhaps pasta isn’t a good lunch if it makes you want to take a nap!
You may not know the answers to these questions and you are not alone. The best method to use to get a better “map” if you will of your energy cycle is to track your workday activities with energy notes for a week. You should already have some type of calendar that you use for work and/or home. Simply make brief notes as you go through your week about the type of task you are doing and how you are feeling each hour. When you look back at the end of the week, you will see a pattern that you can use to help you schedule tasks, meetings, breaks and other activities during the times that are more appropriate for you.
For example, I have discovered that I am a morning person and that my brain gets fuzzy late at night. However, when I first wake up it takes me a while to calm my mind and focus; it’s usually like a whirling vortex of ideas and task. This is not a good time for me to write a blog post or do project work. It is a great time for me to scan social media, read RSS feeds, answer quick emails (things that only need a few minutes focus) or alternatively to exercise which helps to calm my mind. My energy and focus “curve” slowly climbs throughout the morning and peaks late morning. So 10AM-12PM is great project/writing time. This is why I frequently get caught up in a project and do not want to stop to eat lunch. I will keep working until 1 or 2 some days and then I am starving. So, the lesson for me here is not only when to schedule high focus activities, but also to make sure I take a mid-morning break and have a good snack in case lunch is later. I am almost useless many days late afternoon, so I best get everything done before 3PM or else it has to wait until mid-evening. I do get another spurt of energy between 6-8PM, which I like to use for those household chores, being active with the kids or occasionally writing or other business tasks that I may not have time for during the traditional work day (i.e. finances, marketing, technology issues.) The other things I discovered are that I work better in 90 minute blocks of time (30 minutes is too disruptive for me) and that I need to eat every 2 – 3 hours.
To read more on the other Golden Rules of Productivity, click here.
